In my humble opinion, there are few places in the world more magical than a thrift store. They’re full of unexpected treasures like outdated clothing items that would be bold statements today, VHS tapes of films you haven’t watched in decades and bizarre home goods that make you wonder why they were ever created in the first place. What’s not to love?
So in celebration of all of the wackiest things shoppers have ever found at secondhand stores, we’ve taken a trip to the “Charity Shop [Stuff]” Facebook group. Below, you’ll find some of the quirkiest objects that have ended up on thrift store shelves, as well as conversations we were lucky enough to have with thrifting experts Dina Younis of Dina’s Days and Jessica Potter of Used & Loved, so enjoy this opportunity to virtually window shop and be sure to upvote all of the items you might have been tempted to purchase!
#1 Crud Mug Of The Day. Oxfam Guisborough
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
I have been an avid thrift store shopper for as long as I can remember, pandas. My mother raised me taking me along to various secondhand shops, helping me find the best deals and instilling in me the importance of finding treasures that have been pre-loved. Gently used clothing items and household objects have much more character than something straight out of a factory, and they tend to be much more budget-friendly as well. Why wear the exact same clothes everyone else at school is bound to have when you could find a spectacular piece from the 80’s that will have you receiving compliments left and right?
And even if you’re not interested in purchasing anything at a thrift store, you might still want to visit one purely for entertainment purposes! Groups like Charity Shop [Stuff] show just how wild and amusing secondhand shops can be. This community, which was created in January 2022, has already amassed an impressive 20k members and has countless photos that might pique your curiosity. Who previously owned these things? Who decided to donate them? Will anyone else buy them? Strolling through a thrift store is like going on a treasure hunt, and lucky for us, the members of this group have already found some of the most intriguing pieces of gold!
#2 Needless To Say We Didn’t Buy It ? £4…mens T-Shirt
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#3 British Heart Foundation Gloucester Lol She’s Armless Really
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
To learn more about thrifting from an expert, we reached out to Dina Younis of Dina’s Days, who was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda. First, we wanted to know how Dina got into secondhand shopping. “My love for making old things new again started at an early age when I was living in Amman, Jordan,” she shared. “Not having access to many affordable malls or retail stores in Amman in the 1990s, I quickly learned that the best way to fulfill all of my pre-teen interests was to find a way to stretch my limited allowance.”
“I’d spend hours circling, highlighting, documenting, and caressing each page of the Delia’s catalog my cousin would mail us from the United States,” Dina explained. “Afterwards, I would budget my allowance and visit the thrift store to hunt for my favorite things, attempting to replicate the looks I’d dream about in the Delia’s catalog.This lifestyle continued with me as an adult. When I moved to the United States, I was really introduced to the world of thrifting. Places like Goodwill became my go-to destinations to spend my paycheck in high school. Today, nearly 95% of my wardrobe is secondhand. I believe in thrifting because it’s affordable, great for the environment, and promotes individuality and creativity.”
#4 Lol Saw This In Footsteps Gloucester
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#5 It’s What She Would Have Wanted. And For £4 This Wasn’t Being Left Behind. Highams Park Counselling Charity Shop
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#6 Perfect Ideas For Summer Holidays!
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
We also asked Dina why we should all be doing more of our shopping through secondhand sources. “It’s sustainable, affordable, and promotes individuality and creativity,” she noted. “There is already SO MUCH stuff in circulation. If there’s something you need, there’s a pretty good chance you can find it secondhand – whether from a traditional thrift store, online thrift store or Facebook groups/Marketplace.”
And when it comes to Dina’s favorite things to thrift, she shared that she’s partial to furniture and large home décor items like artwork. “One of my favorite recent finds is an Art Deco wood cabinet in excellent condition for $50!” she told Bored Panda.
#7 First Donation Of The Day ?
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#8 What The Actual …..? Cancer Research Penzance
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#9 A Must For All Workplaces. We’ve All Done It. Hope Rescue, Pontypridd
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
If anyone out there is new to thrifting and needs some tips, Dina says, “Make a list, take it one section at a time, and GO OFTEN! Hands down, the number one reason I find great items is because I go often. Inventory changes daily, multiple times a day. If you’re new to thrifting and want to make it more of a lifestyle, start small. Find yourself going to places like big box retail stores to browse on the weekend? Replace it with a visit to your local thrift store and see what you can find. Repeat this process and before you know it, you’ll be a thrifting pro!”
#10 In Case Anyone’s Looking For A Bag Of 4 Pebbles (Don’t Even Know Why On Earth You’d Donate, Let Along Try And Sell Them) You Can Find These At The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#11 Bhf Lincoln UK… A Must Have For Any Dog Owner ?
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#12 Saw This Today & Left It There ?
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
“All thrifters love the thrill of the hunt and the element of surprise when treasure hunting, but I believe in the power of a thrift wish list!” Dina added. “To avoid feeling overwhelmed or tempted by inexpensive things you don’t really need, try creating a thrift wish list. This will help you stay focused on what you’re looking for. Just don’t give up after the first try! Thrifting requires persistence and patience. Stick with it because there’s nothing more rewarding than finding something on your thrift wish list!”
If you’d like to learn more tips and tricks from Dina or keep up with her best finds, be sure to visit her website Dina’s Days right here!
#13 For All You Gary Barlow Fans. Barnardos Milton Keynes
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#14 Band Of Cats At Jane’s Charity Shop, Also Romsey
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#15 3 Old Ring Pulls In Plastic. Age UK Walthamstow. And It Is Now Mine…
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
We were lucky enough to get in touch with another secondhand expert, Jessica Potter, Co-Founder of Used & Loved, to hear her thoughts on the topic as well. “I got into secondhand mainly when I was pregnant with my first,” she shared with Bored Panda. “We were worried about the impact having a baby would have on the planet, with all the stuff we (thought) we needed, so we decided to try and only buy second-hand for him. It was a real struggle though, because I still loved buying new, I couldn’t switch off that feeling of being tempted by the ease and wider choices of buying new.”
“So I had to learn a few techniques and train my brain to say no to new, like if I saw something new I wanted, I’d try really hard to engage my brain, stop myself and thing, could I find this second-hand, and the answer was usually yes, so I’d put it down,” Jessica went on to explain. “Most of the time, I’d forget what it was I wanted anyway, so I saved myself buying crap/stuff on impulse that I didn’t need (or even want).”
#16 Well, Made Me Laugh… Jumble Sale Fundraiser For A Youth Theatre, East Oxford, 20p
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#17 Seen In Greenwich
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#18 What’s In Your Knickers? My Purse Of Course £2.50 Leeds, (Forgot Exactly Which Shop)
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
“The biggest thing I love about secondhand is how much cheaper it is,” Jess noted. “I could never go back to buying everything new again, it just seems like such a huge waste of money now! And you can buy better quality things, better brands than you might have been able to if you bought new.”
“The habit of buying new, is more about the experience/high of buying things, filling a need for us,” she explained. “But actually, that consumption doesn’t really make us happy, it can leave us feeling guilty for spending too much money, burdened with too much stuff that we didn’t really love all that much in the first place, and filling our time doing it, when we could spend that money and time doing something that really makes us happy (even if we need to discover what that is, it’s so worth it).”
#19 Not Entirely Sure…but I Think It’s A Plastic Eiffel Tower You Hang Around Your Neck And Drink Alcohol From. Salvation Army, St Petersburg, Fl
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#20 Julia’s House, Christchurch….only £3
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#21 Apple Sauce Head Found In Tenovus, Romsey
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
Jessica also shared that, surprisingly, her best find was actually discovered at a recycling center. “Someone was throwing away a handmade wooden cabinet, so we rehomed it, which we just love,” she explained. “It was a bit rough around the edges, but we’ve given it a polish, and it’s beautiful now, and worth quite a bit of money. Another great find was a vintage Luxo Lamp L2 (a Pixar style lamp) which, again, is slightly rough around the edges, but it has so much character!”
#22 Godalming Barnardos ?? The Volunteer Said She Couldn’t Bring Herself To Put It Out But Priced It At £1 Each Tassel – Now That’s My Sisters Birthday Gift Sorted
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#23 I Have Questions. Questions I’m Not Sure I Want To Know The Answers To. Still Available In Haw, Hull If You Want A Budget Option For Your Old Granny ☠️
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#24 £4 Barnados Dudley
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
As far as advice for those who want to get into thrifting, Jess recommends looking for inspiration for what you want to buy. “The thing with buying secondhand online is that it’s all so hidden behind a search bar, so you need to know what you’re looking for,” she explained. “This means so many amazing items go unseen, or a lucky person gets to grab a bargain. So be that lucky person, by looking for inspiration of what to buy, before you start looking. And for in-store thrift shopping, take your time. You need to look at everything in a shop to find the hidden gems. So go there when you have plenty of time, enjoy it and the thrift gods will give you something good.”
#25 Was It Me You Were Looking For £1 From Pdsa Brighton ?
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#26 Oxfam Cleveleys If You Want This Fine Garment!
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#27 Barnsley Charity Shop Fish Sliders ?
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
“Once you start buying things you like secondhand, something unlocks in your mind, and you realize how foolish you’ve been to spend all your money on following new fashion before,” Jessica added. “Play around with secondhand, work out your real personal style, and you can get so much confidence with your newfound identity! It takes some experimenting, but that’s all part of the fun!”
If you’d like to go on your own thrifting journey, be sure to check out Used & Loved right here!
#28 Rspca Blackstock Rd
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#29 Yep, A Meerkat Elvis. And It Was In The Glass Cabinet So It Was Worth A Fair Bit…
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
Are you feeling inspired to take a trip to your local thrift shop, pandas? If the Macklemore song wasn’t enough to convince you how incredible (and bizarre) these stores can be, we hope this list was! Be sure to upvote the pics you find most amusing, and feel free to share in the comments what the most surprising objects you’ve ever found at thrift stores were. Then, if you’re interested in reading another Bored Panda article featuring a similarly strange group, we recommend checking out this piece next!
#30 Someone’s Been Having A Go At Painting… Do Charity Shops Ever Throw Anything Away Because It’s Really Bad? Pdsa, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#31 Easter Bunny In A Mr Tumble Waistcoat Anyone? Available From Salvation Army Newmarket ??
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#32 There Are Some Charity Shops That Think They Are Antique Shops. Cornwall Hospice Truro Has Many Items With Price Tags Like This. £700…. Kerching!
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#33 Saw This At Charity Shop Any Ideas
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#34 Ashbourne Shops Certainly Didn’t Dissapoint!!
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#35 I’m Guessing Sue Wasn’t Happy With Her 50th Birthday Present From Friends ?
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#36 Beep Beep. Pdsa, Wallsend, Newcastle Upon Tyne (20p)
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#37 Want A Fish Tank Without The Responsibility Of Cleaning And Feeding The Fish. Cardigan Barnardos Has Just The Thing For You
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#38 Age UK, Morpeth
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#39 I Found This A Year Ago, And It Still Haunts Me. I Dont Get It?!!? ??
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#40 Found This In Scope In Great Yarmouth… Definitely Came Home With Me So I Can Prank My Kids ?
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#41 Just Why Would Anyone Make This?
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#42 Burnham, Secret World Wildlife Rescue
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#43 My Partner Went On A Charity Shop Binge Today And Came Home With This Thing! He’s Named It Cuthbert ?? Age UK- Wolverhampton
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#44 Run Don’t Walk For This Beautiful Outfit In Barnardo’s Fallowfield!!
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#45 Wooden Ghost Thing, Yours For £1 Sue Ryder, Leeds
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#46 Dove House Hospice Charity Shop,hull
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#47 Well If You Are A Last Of The Summer Wine Fan.. Longfield Glos £3.50 Each
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#48 She Wanted A Pony ? Shaw Trust, Glastonbury
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#49 Mini Fagin Toby Jug ? @ Knebworth Ymca Shop
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#50 Red Cross Earlestown: £1.99 Didn’t Buy ?
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#51 I Love It!
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#52 Found In Roy Castle Lung Cancer Shop In Sale. £50 For Mike Baldwin’s Tie
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#53 Bondi Jct. Salvo’s. My Previous Two Split Opinion But Surely This One Is Worthy Of Damnation To Hell. Anyone Know Who He Is ?
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#54 The Price!!!!!!! Shaw Trust, Stoke Newington, North London. These Often Sell For Less Than £5 On Second Hand Sites
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#55 Is It A Giant Wooden Sandal?! ??? Sense Crewe
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#56 This Delight Can Be Yours For The Princely Sum Of £3.99. Age UK In Crosby, Liverpool
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
#57 Colin Gets About… Each, Attleborough
Image credits: Charity Shop [nonsense]
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